How to install Google Analytics on your SiteSuite website or online store

If your website isn’t tracking visitor traffic, then you’re likely to be in the dark as to what works and what doesn’t. Does that lavish ‘About Us’ page on your site’s main navigation actually achieve anything? Do those shining product-landing pages attract customers or do they languish with just 2 visits per month?

Learning about your website visitors is an important part in maintaining a modern website because that knowledge reveals which pages work and which don’t. You get to know where visitors come from, how they discovered your site, what they do when they arrive, and the paths they take. Do visitors ignore pages that, to you, appear perfectly okay, or do they spend time on those pages absorbing the information you provide?

By taking analytical information about your website and using it to improve your site’s layout, its pages, its content – and more – you mould your site more towards what your visitors need rather than what you think they need.

There are no shortages in available traffic analytics software applications but perhaps the most revered is Google Analytics. Not only is it free, but also it’s as comprehensive as most webmasters could ever wish for. However, Analytics is not for the faint hearted. With a mass of available tools, at times it’s a tough beast to master, however, by dedicating just a few minutes each day you quickly learn its basics and certainly enough to begin collecting information that can be of use to making your website a more productive business tool.

If you’re not a “tech-head”, don’t despair. There are countless tutorials available online and a fabulous collection of tutorials provided by Google themselves. Many are geared towards beginners so that you can install the tracking code and get analysing in quick time.

1. Create a new Google account or log in to your current Google account

A Google account is an account created using an email address to access any of the various Google products such as YouTube, Blogger, AdWords and, of course, Analytics. A Google account is not a Google Gmail account although you can log in to Gmail and then create an Analytics account if you don’t already have one.

2. Create an Analytics account

Follow the prompts within your Google account and sign up for Analytics. You will be prompted to enter your website’s URL.

3. Once your Analytics account is created, copy the tracking code

The tracking code is what Google uses to identify your website. From the Paste this code into your website text box, copy that code and then log in to your website’s Dashboard from a separate web browser tab or window.

4. Paste the tracking code into your website

Once logged in to your website Dashboard, navigate to ‘Statistics’ and then select the ‘Custom Statistics Code’ navigation tab. From within that tab, paste your tracking code into the text input field box. Select ‘Apply this code to:” The entire website including the shop and checkout. Click the ‘Add New Code’ button when done. Now publish your website.

Google will now begin to track traffic to and from your website. You can view this information from the Google Analytics Dashboard.

So now that you’re successfully tracking your visitor traffic, where to next? The best place for Analytics resources is Google. Here are some useful links to online tutorials to help you get started (but the best way is to log in to your Analytics account each morning and begin to click around Analytics, familiarising yourself with the Dashboard and its various tracking tools.